Scott, we went from 40F+ degrees and rain yesterday to -12F really truly with -42F wind chill tonight. But... DH and I just have dogs and cats, and the big dogs are fine outside for awhile in the extreme temps.

Where are you again? Whitecat8

Here's my Google Earth location!
{{gwi:133404}}
I guess that I shouldn't complain, as it hasn't dropped much lower than 15F or so.
But once it's under 30F, cold is cold.
Especially with a wet butt! ;~)

It's about 25F right now, at 11:30PM.
The good thing with the snow, is that it has actually warmed up.
When it was just clear and cold, we were droppin' into the teens!

I have outside dogs now.
There still young, but they're suppposed to be my livestock guardian dogs and love this cold weather.
The Boxers and the Bulldogs are huddled around the fire like they're close to death.
I think they're drawing straws to see who'll be eaten first! ;~)

The coyotes are gettin' really bold as food gets more difficult for them.
I shot at one the other day, but missed!
I'm still pissed about that! :~(
I was trying to avoid hittin' any cows and couldn't get a good aim!
They're after my sheep.
As many as they've snagged over the years, they've aquired quite a taste for 'em!

I'm waitin' to see one go flying by on an ACME rocket sled!;~)

Same in western Ohio...

Tuesday evening 48 degrees, this morning at 4:00am it was 10 with a wind chill of -12.

WC8, I lived in very rural Hector, MN (@90 miles west of the twin cities) for a couple of years in the late 80's. I remember one morning it was -34 actual temperature with a wind chill of -74. My car wouldn't start and I had to walk all the way across town to get to work. I know that sounds really bad, but in Hector all the way across town was about 3 blocks ;-) When I first moved to Ohio from MN winters seemed tame, but after unacclimating for 19 years Ohio winters are bad enough, don't want the MN stuff any longer. On a side note: One of the best memories for me about MN winters was the ice fishing, more about the drinking than the fishing...

Bob

Scott, what breed of dog? I love the livestock guardian dogs and checked out a lot of breeds, hoping one could be a housedog in the city. Nope. They're successful at their jobs for good reasons.

Yesterday at 6 pm, it was -11 w/ a wind chill of -45. Right now, it's only -5 w/ wc of -11.

Bob, yes, in the late 80s, we were still having "normal" winters in MN. Three blocks in -74 wind chill is life-threatening. Glad you didn't get frostbite.

In a strange way, our extreme weather this winter is comforting - this is the way it's *supposed* to be in MN.

The lure of ice fishing escapes me (unintended pun) - spending tons of money and going to lots of effort to make it seem like you're not sitting on the ice when you're sitting on the ice. Drinking numbs you to reality. :)

Whitecat8

Sorry for the delay!
My butts been draggin'!
So much winter animal husbandry going on and, as usual, everyone else is gone!
You'd think that I be used to doing everything by myself by now!
Actually, I sorta' like it!
I don't have to explain things and can do it how I want! :~)

I just spent a couple of hours out in the sleet quarreling with a young bull.
We had a difference of opinion!;~)
He thought that he could go through what ever fences he wanted to...
I disagreed!;~)
I won!!
He's lucky not to be in the freezer!
I ended up rippin' out half of one of the fences with the backhoe!:~(
I don't stop too well in the mud and slush!
I just kept on going!
So...
I had to do fence repairs in the middle of fighting with the little pr**k!
Yeah!
He's very lucky!

The LGD's are half Great Pyrenees and half Marema.
We ended up with three of them.
I'm still trying to figure out how we got the third one.
I only need two.
The rotten things hang around the house and never shut up!
I thought that the whole idea was for them to live with and guard the fricken' sheep!
I've never tolerated neighbors dogs barking all night and now I have them!:~(
Jeeze!
I could've got a recording and saved money on dogfood, not to mention the huge piles of "not so much" puppy poop!
I have cows that don't leave that big a pile!!

Did I mention the sleet blowing sideways?
Fricken' cold!
I know that It's not like it's -30F, but still!!
I hope that we at least get a good snow pack out of this!
And...
It is really gorgeous when the clouds clear.
So. as long as the firewood holds out and the power stays on,
it really isn't that bad.
With spring on the way and summer not far either, I should suck up some of the cold for later! ;~)

Scott

Lately I've been missing farm life. You've just reminded me why I didn't stay :p

Scott - Yeah, how do the pups get a clue about their job? Did they come with a manual?

Our 2 big dogs are shepherds, and lots of things need barking at. We live in the 'burbs, and early on, I got bark collars for them.

Temps and weather are all relative. During our cold spells, I could stay inside. You had to be out in the horizontal sleet, looking after livestock and chatting with the bull.

Glad if it suits you.

WC8

With all those generations of genetics...
They're plug and play

Suits me?
Who said that?
It's a family thing that I got tricked into!:~)
If I had my druthers, I'd be down in Palm Springs getting ready to party all weekend!
Ahhh!
Those were the days.
Well...
What I remember of them, anyway

Notice I said "... IF it suits you." Any consolation, being able to remember your days now? Maybe a silly question, with the argumentative bull and sideways sleet. WC8

A matter of semantics, I guess!:~)

He's a youngling, so it's not like he's any danger to me.
I'm more dangerous to myself!;~)
I just don't want him near my heifers .
I meant to, but didn't steer him when he was younger.
The last one I did that to, almost steered me!

Not sure about any consolation.
Would that be a consolation prize?
I'm not giving the tiara back, so you might as well tell them.{{gwi:133405}}
It goes well with my boots and plaid jacket!;~)

BTW...
We have another cougar
I felt a little spooky about two nights ago, but didn't put that much thought into it.
A neighbor told me, today, that someone had seen recent tracks in the snow very close.
And...
When I was out today checking on my water system, I saw very recent tracks.
Right where I've been working at
Hmmm!
That could help explain why the dogs won't shut up!
Or, are at least worse than usual!

{{gwi:133406}}

This is one of our cats in Mo. I had one try to kill a pony foal several years ago , It also was stalking a new born calf I shot over it's head afraid I would hit the cow and calf . The one in the picture is held up by a guy over 6 foot tall a friend sent the photo . Gin

Holy !!!

This was forwarded to me by my mom
It's from the Oregon Wool Growers!

"greetings,
I just got a call from Laura ----- in Walton Oreogn. she has just suffered a devastating loss to her sheep flock from an assumed dog attack. (Will know more in the daylight). does anyone know if there is any programs similar to federal payments for losses from wildlife? I urged her to report it to the county sherriff, she doesn't have farm/ranch insurance, hopefully the dogs (if it were dogs) can be tracked to their home.

She has the survivors currently locked in the barn, and is shakily making her way homeward. We wish her all the best,
---------------------------
Well group,

the local trapper has confirmed it was cougars, likely a female and her yearling. Unusual to loose so many to cougars. There had been some fresh feeding between last evening and this morning, as well as recent tracks in this morning's snow. They even found where they had gone over the 8 foot elk fence. The total lost at this point is 17, all due to lamb in March/April. So heavy losses there.

Laura is coping pretty well today, mourning the characters in that group that are gone, but working with the powers that be to get it all documented and reported. Thanks for your support, she'll be online on Monday,
>Correy
----------------------------
You're wrong about it being unusual for Cougars to kill so many.
They ARE cats and they 'play' with the sheep exactly like a cat with
a mouse. Reed ----- lost (I counted the dead bodies) 27 in the
field right next to ours. Another person just up the road lost 12.
The trapper confirmed it was cougar. We only lost 3 several yeas
ago. They didn't eat a single one of ours. Just left them.

Ingrid
--------------------------------
I will agree that cougars are cats, and youngsters will certainly play
with prey. However, it is UNUSUAL for so many to be confirmed cougar
kills at one time. MOST cougar kills are single animals, and if the
size of sheep/deer, GENERALLY quietly taken out of the area for
consumption. Many times, the animal just 'disapears' from the flock.
If you are lucky, you can find a pile of fleece somewhere outside the
vicinity.
Correy
--------------------
Boy, time for a couple of big ole nasty Akbash's if it's cougars.
Llamas aren't going to do it here.
Susie

That last was came in 30 minutes ago!
Since they outlawed the hunting of them with dogs, the population has skyrocketed!
I'm generally a live and let live kind of guy.
But I have a shoot on site policy toward predators and ferel dogs!
They can cause as much damage, if not more, as wild ones.

The most dangerous ones are the yearling males!
They're one their own, hungry and haven't yet learned to be afraid of humans.
They're the ones that pick off pets and children.
I lost most of my sheep crop, a few years ago, and several adults.
The State hunters came in and killed a big one, after it took out one of the adjacent nieghbors horses.
It had been pickin' off cows all up and down the creek.
I have a very well developed danger sense and trust it implicitly!
It's never failed me yet.
After feeling spooky, I always here about local sightings or a kill.

BTW!
Although I don't want them here, I would truly love to get some great photos of one!;~)

Scott

I had one snatch a full grown goose just over the yard fence . My Great Danes were having a fit I went to get the mini 14 but is was gone by the time I got back to the door . At the time Mo. conservation said there were no cougars in Mo. I guess what I saw was not real .. That is awful about the sheep sorry to hear it ....Gin

Ruger .223's are just the best, aren't they!
I feel naked w/o it.
I've never really been a gun person, although they've always been around.
But, when you're in rural areas with big cats, it's better to be safe.
I'm pretty sure that they've tried to reintroduce wolves as well.
Somewhere not really that far away, as far as these things go.
My mom grew up with those, as well, and I'm not eager to have them lurking about!
I'm pretty much a tree hugger at heart, but I'm not a fool either.
Sorta' puts me in conflict with both sides!;~)
I don't hunt or shoot everything on site...
But, I don't know the words to Kum Bah Ya either.
So neither side likes me, which is fine with me.
The feelin' is mutual!;~)

I remember a cougar attack somewhere Southeast!
I think I remember it harassing a single mom and her kids at their house out in the boonies.
The State tried to insist that there were none within a thousand miles of them.
Then they hauled in the body.
Sorta' hard to ague with something like that.

The coyotes cause more damage to the sheep than anything else.
Wasn't there a saying about "Eat American lamb, 4 million coyotes can't be wrong!"?
I'm sure that I'm paraphrasing, but that's all I remember!

You're in Missouri, right?
A lot of my family was originally from over that way.
My maternal Grandma was born in Illinois back in 1913, but moved to Wyoming as a little girl, before ending up in Colorado!
Still have a lot of family out that way, but have lost most contact over the years.
I'm thinkin' that my grandfather was from Tennessee, but I'd have to ask my mom.
Details escape me.
Small world, though!;~)

Scott

Hmm...
I forgot that you were a California native!;~)
Does it count that I move there when I was two?

You must have had some major culture shock after your move.
If you don't mind me asking...
Where'd you move from, in Ca?
I'm just nosey!
Y'all should've noticed that by now!;~)

Hmmmm. When I was out at my brother's a couple of years ago, My sil and I were stringing fence and we came across fresh cougar tracks. Since she's only 5'2" and I'm only 5'4" and I don't usually carry a gun when I'm standing in the middle of a creek up to my gazorp restringing a fence.....I didn't like it too much.

I agree about the coyotes and the feral dogs though...nasty beasties..

Hey ! I am from the Santa Rosa No. Ca. area , but spent 12 years in So. Cal uggh !
I don't hunt and hate to kill things but sometimes there is no choice , awhile back I heard my chickens haveing a fit looked outside and a fox was after one of my hens . I ran and grabbed my shotgun , thought I would probably kill the chicken along with the fox , It did not have a good hold on her I shot and dropped the fox chicken was fine .
Had a running fight with dogs awhile back one was after a hen (again) I grabbed the broom it was handy went out the door , hair standing on end,no shoes , yelling X rated words at the dog.. glad no one saw me lol ,it would not give up chasing the hen I went thru the pasture gate chasing it finally it gave up and started across the field , about that time a colt in the field noticed what was going on he looked at me then the dog and took off after the dog ran it under the fence then stood guard waiting for it to come back ..ahh so was I .. not seen it back .If so it will be the 3 SSS shoot shovel shut up . Gin

Yeah!
You shoulda' seen me, trying to work on the irrigation ditch with the Ruger strapped to my back after I saw the tracks!;~)
I'm goin' to have to get a book and a mirror.
Just to check if I have a "gazorp"!
Sounds like something Mel Brooks would say!:~)
I never got over 'High Anxiety'!

I don't hunt at all and never saw the point.
If I was hurting for food...well, yeah!
I grew up fishing on the Russian River, and spent a lot of time around Clear Lake, Mendocino and all up and down the coast, but wasn't a hunter.
We used to inner tube up and down the river.
Those were the days!:~)
I guess that the old hippy nudist camp just north of town, is now an upscale resort!
If those waters could talk...
Well, they'd likely ask for some pot!;~)

Can you tell, Ginge, that I'm from Sonoma County!;~)
Moved to Cloverdale, when I was two!
My brother was born in Ukiah.
He still lives in Petaluma and is a cop over in Napa.
You couldn't pay me enough to live there now.
Everything is gone!!:~(
They alway said that the builders would turn it just like San Jose...
They were right!

The last time I lived there, was out of Sebastopol.
A few miles out of town, heading toward Bodega Bay.

Great place to grow up in during the '70's.
Really nasty little place now.
(Cloverdale, I mean!)
Actually has been for twenty years.

Yeah!
I spent three years down in S.Cal, before moving to Sebastopol
Then, after my parents moved back overseas in '93, I opted to move back down to Palm Springs again.
I have very mixed feeling about the place.
Many, many horrible aspects, but could be a lot of serious fun.
I really missed trees and real water.
The golf courses just didn't cut it.

My biggest issue for the longest time, up here, were all of the raccons!
Disney lied his butt off!
They're not cute little critters.
They're nasty, viscous and will really hurt you.
It took me forever to erradicate them from my area.
They had, eventually, ripped the roof off the chicken house and wipped everthing out.

My Boxers won't even look at chickens anymore.
They had develped an unfortunate taste for fresh chicken when they were younger.
These new LGD girls have a very unhealthy interest in them, but they know that I won't have it!

The foxes are mostly tolerated, as long as they don't become too much of a problem.
They do a lot of good otherwise, so...
As long as they don't push it, I sorta' like them.
The weird thing is...
They hang around talking to my cats!
I'm serious!
I've seen the cats and them, just laying around like they're having a good chat!
I've went out and they just look at me.
It's like I'm interrupting something!
I swear, everything is so worthless around here!;~)

Loose dogs are not tolerated!
Period!!
They are shot on sight!
We don't believe in shoot, shovel and shutup!
They will be shot and hung on the gate!
That's if we can't find the owners.
Although I generally put up with one of my neghbors old hunting dogs.
Not thrilled. but I do try to get along.
(Believe it or not!)

Our mule, and the donkey as well, absolutely HATE dogs and will chase them down.
Good entertainment!
Our dogs have learned to keep a lot of distance!:~)

X-rated words are the way I generally talk to...
Well, everything!
I'm so bad...I sound like an Aussie!;~)
From the many that I've known, that's saying something!
BTW...
I picked up more .223 ammo today!
Although I hate them, Wally world is good for somethings.
The guy selling them to me, said that he's shot three cougars over the last coupla' years.
They're really getting to be a dangerous problem.
I really love most of the wildlife, but the predators need to keep some distance.
I have a small herd of deer that I generally leave alone.
They don't eat much and seem to tolerate me being close to them.
It's sorta' cool, plus, they give me a heads up as to what's going on.
I know that when they're around, it's pretty safe.
I'm still armed, though!;~)

Jeeze!!
Is this reply long enough?

Scott

Russian River :) not thought about it in a long time I went swimming in it . I love the redwoods , went riding in them a lot ,also at Point Reyes sea shore . Mo. has nothing like it .
I have been told I would not know No. Ca. I believe it, after looking on the internet at house prices no way could I afford one .
We lived on the Big Niangua river an arm of Lake of the Ozarks Mo. when we had all the critter trouble . Not a lot here except the random fox and dogs... Grrrr.
Loved to fish went almost every day the river was only a half block away.White bass in the spring and catfish, I miss that, but not the 3 miles of rocky miserable road to my house . No neighbors tho. Gin

you know, this thread is really educational.

s/urbanite/

The N. CA coast just does it for me. For about 10 years, I thought I was living in the wrong place and needed to move from MN to CA. Every chance I got, I'd go out there - land at the San Francisco airport, rent a car, and head North, always along the coast. Going to sleep and waking up hearing the ocean has gotta be good for you.

The air! Every once in awhile, we have "California air" in Minnesota - a certain crispness and sweetness.

Scott, it may be Sebastopol that had (has?) a well-known breeder of Standard Schnauzers. Somewhere around there. I always wanted to check out the kennel but couldn't stay away from the coast.

Just looked - there's a Skansen Kennel there - oof - $1600 for a pet quality Standard, and the ears are cropped, whether you want it or not.

Raccoons - here, they'll lure dogs into the water and hold their heads under water till they die. The staff at Timber Cove Inn near Jenner, CA has caved, and feeds a hoard of them so they won't come in and munch on the nice visitors' chips if they leave the slider open.

Ginge, it would have been heaven to ride in the redwoods - double magic. One time in Arkansas, 2 friends and I rode bareback along the sandy bank of the river. We could let the horses run. A storm was coming in - black swirling clouds, and the wind was high. Unforgettable.

Scott, foxes talking to your cats! About 20 people around here are gonna love it.

To discourage cougars - has anyone ever tried marking his/her territory? Didn't it work for wolves? 'Course, if you've got livestock on a lot of acreage, that could be a lot of beer, which could compromise productivity. :)

So, Komi, you're a city gal?

Whitecat8

Laughing ! That would be a sight drinking beer and marking ,I would have to run down one of the big beer drinkers around here .
Doran Park did it for me ,riding in the surf, could let them run , funny when you ride into the surf and start back toward the beach it feels like you are going backward .
gin